Country Crock Plant Butter Contains Less Almond Oil Than Advertised, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Country Crock-brand Plant Butter “With Almond Oil” is falsely advertised in that it contains less almond oil than consumers are led to expect.

The 14-page case says that although Country Crock maker Upfield US Inc. has promoted almond oil on the plant butter’s front label—namely through depictions of almonds alongside a statement that the butter is “made with almond oil”—the product, in truth, contains only “a negligible amount” of almond oil in comparison to other vegetable oils. The product’s front-label representations lead consumers to expect that the plant butter contains “a significant, non-de minimis amount” of almond oil, in relative and absolute amounts to the oils found in the product, the complaint argues.

The case claims consumers, many of whom seek foods with almond oil for health reasons, would not have paid as much for the Country Crock plant butter, or would not have purchased it at all, had they known the product contained mainly palm and canola oils.

According to the lawsuit, the Country Crock Plant Butter’s ingredients list reveals that the product’s most predominant ingredient is a blend of four oils. The case says almond oil is listed after palm fruit, palm kernel and canola oil and is thus the least predominant oil in the plant butter.

The suit argues that the “small relative and absolute amount” of almond oil is misleading in light of the plant butter’s front-label representations that highlight the presence of almond oil. Moreover, the amount of almond oil in the product is insufficient to provide an almond oil taste or any of the health benefits associated with the ingredient, the case contends.

The lawsuit claims Upfield has been able to sell more of the Country Crock Plant Butter, and at higher prices, than it would have absent the allegedly misleading representations.

The case looks to represent anyone in New York, Alaska, Maine, New Mexico, North Carolina, Wyoming, Nebraska or Georgia who purchased Country Crock Plant Butter “With Almond Oil” within the applicable statute of limitations period.

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